Ken Russell's audacious take on the life of composer Peter Tchaikovsky will either dazzle or enrage you with its no holds barred presentation of the tortured composer. Utilizing Tchaikovsky's music with both romantic and sardonic abandon Russell paints a flamboyant picture to accompany his score with stunning countryside homes and belle époque surrounding of grandeur while savagely crosscutting squalor, depravity and the horrors of asylum existence. Whether pluming the depths of despair with his Symphony Pathetique (6th) or dark comically putting the 1812 Overture to use Russell eviscerates the man with his music while at the same time sympathizing with his plight. When first released I can recall parents ushering their children from the theatre during the first two reels. It was no Sleeping Beauty. Russell opens his film in bravura fashion at a winter carnival with an energized montage that expeditiously introduces key players in his life. It ends in overt declaration by confirming rather than hinting at Tchaikovsky's homosexuality. With this out of the way he concentrates on his poorly planned and ill fated marriage to Nina (Glenda Jackson)as well as relationship with family and patroness Von Meck who gives him the freedom and ability to write and compose. When she unceremoniously cuts off his allowance without reason he turns to conducting which provides a huge source of income and honors. Meanwhile Nina is rapidly descending into madness.As Tchaikovsky, Richard Chamberlain does a fine job of conveying the highs and lows of the composer's existence as well as an impressive feigning of the First Piano Concerto. Glenda Jackson's Nina is a raw unforgettable powerhouse of madness that few in the business might be capable of rising to. The cast also boasts some strong supporting performances from spot on acerbic foils Max Adrian, Ken Colley and Maureen Pryor.Douglas Slocombe's lush cinematography and wife Sheila Russell's costuming greatly add to Russell's vision of the paradise and hell on earth the tragic composer lived and rather than allow for the mundane tedium and worship that goes along with most bios of great men and women went to it with an unquenchable ruthless energy brilliantly juxtaposing Tchaikovsky's (along with a few perfectly placed bars of Rimsky Korsakov) music with his poetic license to create one disturbing an unforgettable biography of a musical giant.

Wow! All the dramatics of Amadeus - and then some! That was Mozart, this is Tchaikovsky.To say Mr Russell has a vivid imagination is an underestimation and a half. Forthright film critic Mark Kermode constantly reminds us that Ken Russell is Britain's (or England's, I can't remember which) finest, living director. Mark Kermode often divides opinion and so I assumed that he was wrong.The Music Lovers will knock the woolly old dears off their perches - classical music being so pure and saintly and all that. BUT, it was the rock'n'roll of its day; its blood, sinew and its sex. People didn't always listen to it dressed to the nines in some chaste church or hall. People orgasmed (or would have, if they'd had a record player), argued and got drunk to it. Their protagonists were the rock stars of their time.So, why not have exploding heads to the crescendo of the 1812 climax? Would Tchaikovsky seriously have expected us to want to fall asleep instead? Richard Chamberlaine never puts a foot wrong and I'm so glad that Alan Bates turned the role down. Chamberlaine is both elegant and troubled and cuts a dash that Bates cannot. Glenda Jackson as his fiery nymphomaniac wife is, as always superb. Her intent, to net a trophy husband is never off her radar and the film follows this theme.Boring moments? No - I was entertained, blown away and exhilarated, often all at the same time. The sound quality (at least on my DVD) was amazing, the Andre Previn conducting the London Symphony Orchestra score having a wide stereo and dramatic range. The way Russell montages the increasingly frantic hand-held camera with the music is breathtaking. To get both Previn and the LSO as well as Melvyn Bragg's script shows the obvious cinematic clout that Russell had back then. These were all big-hitters in 1970. Now (apparently) Russell can barely get funding to make anything.The period feel is always believable and feels authentic.So, why not 10/10? Well, while this is as good as Amadeus, that didn't get 10/10 from me, either.

The Music Lovers is a movie which highlights the director Ken Russell's virtues and vices. The virtues include an imaginative use of the 2.35:1 wide screen, working wonders with the Holy Mother Russia studio set, complete with golden onion domes, snow and icicles, and horse drawn sleighs. There is some wonderful Douglas Slocombe cinematography and the director coaxes fine performances from Richard Chamberlain, Glenda Jackson and Kenneth Colley, to name just three of the fine cast.The vices are Russell's propensity to go over the top, even by his own unrestrained standards. The scene of Glenda Jackson baring all in a swaying railway compartment while her unhappy husband (Richard Chamberlain as the anguished Tchaikovsky) peers in horror at her nether regions, the whole bizarre scene accompanied by the emotionally charged music of the Pathetique Symphony is surely beyond bad taste. However, I must confess to enjoying Russell's utterly bonkers take on the 1812 Overture: those madcap images could only come from the mind of an eccentric genius.Another favourite sequence is the performance of the piano concerto, with Chamberlain almost convincing the viewer that he is actually playing the complex score. Among the costumed extras making up the concert audience I'm sure I spotted a young Martin Amis, sitting behind Tchaikovsy's sister. (That would be another film credit, to add to 'A High Wind in Jamaica'.)

I recently bought this (rare) video. It was great watching this film again, I originally saw it in the cinema when it first came out. I think this film ranks amongst the very best ever made.What I found particularly fascinating, and I have not seen many other comments about this, is the totally convincing way Richard Chamberlain plays the Piano Concerto in the early part of the film and continues to play like as professional pianist. Did he train to play the piano for this part, in the same way as Robert DeNiro became a boxer in 'Raging Bull' or was he just a naturally gifted pianist? Glenda Jackson and the other main characters are just fantastic in this film. My only criticism is the 1812 sequence near the end of the film, which really doesn't really seem to come off. Also the ending sequence, when Tchaikovsky dies of cholera, seems to be completely rushed. I think the ending could have been more drawn out.Overall I think this film was one of the best !